Curing method



Patented Dec. 16, 1941 2,266,492

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CURING METHOD Levi Scott Paddock and Cleo A. Rinehart, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Industrial Patents Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware N Drawing. Application May 17, 1939, Serial No. 274,192

6 Claims. (Cl. 99-159) This invention relates to curing meat. In carrying out the present invention, bacon One of the objects of the invention is to probellies are packed in layers in curing vats or vide a method for obtaining a, satisfactory cured boxes. Each layer is surrounded and covered color in the lean meat of bacon. with a curing mixture of any desired formula,

Other objects of the invention will be apparbut nitrites are omitted from the curing mixent from the description and claims which folture. Cloth soaked in a nitrite solution, for low. example, a 15 per cent solution, is wrung out This invention is particularly concerned with fairly dry and spread between each layer of an improvement in dry curing as distinguished bellies with the necessary additional curing mixfrom wet curing. As is well known, the wet or 10 ture. The bellies remain in cure the usual pepickle method of curing involves preparation of riod of time for the cure desired, and are then a brine which is a water solution of certain washed and smoked in the conventional manner. curing salts, the most important of which is, of Any suitable nitrite salt may be employed and course, sodium chloride. in practice we have found sodium nitrite to be Sodium nitrate is used in conventional cures effective. because it has some curative effect and is broken The use of cloths soaked in nitrite solution asdown by bacterial action into nitrite, which has sures a uniform application of the nitrite. It

the elTect of fixing the characteristic red color will be seen, therefore, that the cloth, as emof cured t, ployed in this invention, acts as a carrier for Dry curing, which is used chiefly in the curing 2.0 nitrite. It will be appar n Of Course, that y of bacon, involves packing bacon bellies in layers similar carrier migh also be p y in boxes, the curing salts being sprinkled over We claim: and around each layer of bellies. The bellies are The method of Curing meat w ch Compermitted to remain in dry cure until completely prises d g meat in cure with curing a s cured, which usually requires about one month, and in contact with a nitrite containing cloth.

Considerable trouble is experienced in the 2. The method of curing meat which comcommercial dry curing of bellies in an efiort to s s p ki g a in cure in ay rs w th cur obtain a satisfactory cured color in the lean agents and a nitrite soaked carrier between each meat. If reliance is placed upon the reduction ayer of meat. of a nitrate to nitrite by bacterial action, difii- 3. The method of curing meat which comculty is experienced in getting sufficient bacprises packing e in ure in ye s with ourterial reduction to nitrite to give a good color. mg a ents and a nitrite soaked cloth betw If nitrite salts are added directly to the curing each layer of meat. mixture in the dry cure, it is difiicult to obtain The method of Cur g meat which coma uniform cured color, because the nitrite added p f s packing cu s o meat in Cure in y s to the curing mixture does not remain uniformly Wlth ng agents and a sodium nitrite soaked distributed throughout the curing mixture and 010th between each layer o meat. does not soak into the fat to give a uniform 5. The method of curing bacon bellies which 001mof the lean meal-h comprises packing bacon bellies in cure in layers We have discovered that a uniform color may with curing agents and a nitrite soaked carrier be assured by soaking cloth in a nitrite solution w n h l yer of bacon bellies, and spreading the cloth over the surface of the e method of cur ng bacon bellies which bellies as they are t in cure The strength comprises packing bacon bellies in cure in layers of the nitrite solution may vary considerably, with curing agents and a nitrite soaked cloth but we have found in practice that a 15 per cent between each layer of bacon bellies. solution gives very satisfactory results in most LEVI SCOTT PADDOCK. instances. CLEO A. RINEHART. 

